Today, I got an email from a classmate, telling me that he and his wife want to try going vegan, and asking for any tips and advice on how to do it. So I thought I'd share these here, in case they can help others as well. Because this is a transcription of an actual email to my friend, you will probably see some things I've mentioned already in earlier posts. I'll always remember the advice my vegan friend Jessica gave me that gave me the confidence to try it: "It's not as hard as you think." If anyone else out there has tips they'd like to share, please add them in the comments.
The only supplement you will def. need (although you may need others based on individual needs), and which you cannot get from an animal-free diet, is B12. Marc and I like to get ours through taking Emergen-C, which are powder packets that make fizzy drinks with plenty of B12 and lots of other good stuff, such as Vit C, etc. They come in many flavors, and we take one a day (I like mine in the AM). This, coupled with the fact that I consume no dairy, has basically eliminated the common cold in our household (I've only gotten 2 in almost 5 years of eating vegan and taking this).
Earth Balance is a delicious butter substitute, which bakes, fries, cooks, spreads and in all ways acts like real butter. It is GMO-free and non-hydrogenized. It comes in tubs, both regular and whipped, and the same company also makes a version called Soy Garden. All are vegan, but Smart Balance is not, just similar name, so be careful. Even many of my non-vegan friends use this because it's so good and so much healthier for you than butter or margarine.
Silk Soy creamer is great for coffee and tea, and we like rice milk for cereal. It's good to mix it up because you don't want to overdo it on the soy. For this same reason, although in the beginning you may find yourself eating a lot of tofu, try to go easy on it; it's a processed food and too much soy is not the best thing, although far less dangerous than meat.
Tofutti cheese slices are one of the only good vegan cheeses I've found; they melt and taste better melted than cold. I like the mozzarella flavored slices best. My craving for real cheese disappeared in about a month, and that was my last animal food craving. Also, after about a month of eating vegan, I found myself feeling more naturally full and satisfied after meals, whereas for the first few weeks I felt a little hungry, but it passed.
Wondering what to eat? Almost any recipe can be made vegan by leaving out the meat (perhaps substitute portabello mushrooms, seitan, or tofu), using Earth Balance where butter is called for, soy, rice or coconut milk instead of cow's milk, and EnerG egg replacer, which is a potato starch based powder that comes in a box and makes baking vegan a cinch. If you crave eggs, try scrambled tofu instead.
The best vegan mayonnaise is Vegenaise, by Follow Your Heart. Even when you lick the knife, it tastes just like regular mayo, but a little better (to me anyway).
Wondering where to eat out and what to get? Apart from actual veg or vegan restaurants, most of which can be found for any area on Happycow.net, Asian restaurants are the easiest, especially Japanese and Thai places. But you must always make it clear to your server that you're vegan and what that means as sometimes things that you wouldn't think have any animal products in them do (many places put a fish base in their miso soup for instance). Most pizza places will be happy to make you a pie sans cheese and load up the veggies, Italian food is a cinch due to the many pasta dishes and marinara or garlic and oil. Many places will be happy to accommodate you by leaving out or substituting the offending ingredient; after all, even Oprah is trying vegan now.
Avocados are filling, delicious and nutritious and great on sandwiches, salads or dips. Rice has been one of our staples; brown is best and wild rice is yummy, although I must admit, we eat far too much white rice. Just about all veggies are great, but go easy on the fruits, most of which are high in sugar and should not be eaten with other foods, since they can rot in the stomach (or so I've heard). They are fine as a treat, just don't go crazy with them. Juices are good too, but the same rule applies: heavy on the veggies, light on the fruits, and to get the full nutritional value, must be drank right after being made. Cucumbers, celery, beets, kale, and parsley are all great for juicing. Raw ginger is a nice addition. Nuts and nut butters are good, with almonds being one of the healthiest, and peanuts one of the least healthy.
There are many internet resources available; here are just a few:
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/
http://www.chooseveg.com/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/
http://vegweb.com/
http://www.vivausa.org/activistresources/guides/veganbasics1.htm
http://www.vegfamily.com/
Many of these offer free vegan start-up guides online or by mail. Good luck, let me know how it goes, and feel free to comment w/questions!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Living Foods Lecture
This past Monday night, I attended a lecture about raw, living foods at Rancho's, an all-vegan market on 30th, just past University St. The speaker was Dr. Brian Clement of Hippocrates Health Institute. At first, I was worried that it would just be a long boring sales talk, but my worries were unfounded. Dr. Clement was a good speaker and quite generous with information, and although he told us a little about HHI, it wasn't the whole focus of the lecture.
He spoke about so many things that I will just touch on a few that stood out to me the most. He mentioned the connection of eating animal products (yes, that means dairy and eggs too, not just meat) and greenhouse gas emissions. Now I already knew all about this, having done research for a school project on it, but in case you didn't already know, the UN put out a report a year or two ago showing that eating animal products is the biggest cause of global warming, and far more impactful than the kind of car you drive. But I will not go too far into that, since as Brian would say, I'd probably be preaching to the choir!
However, although he does live and teach about an all vegan lifestyle, he takes it a step further and insists upon all raw, living food. This is a step I have not taken, but am curious about. He mentioned that sprouts are the most nutritious food, veggie juices are great as long as you drink them fresh from the juicer, and blenders kill nutrients—yes, you heard that right! Something about the oxygenation that occurs when blending and spinning the food. Damn, it's so much harder to clean my juicer than my blender, but I suppose I shouldn't be lazy anymore...
He made a lot of strong statements (such as Ritalin is cocaine - I'll buy that) but backed them up by saying "check every word I say" and I did check a few, although most I believed by instinct anyway. One of which is his statement that laptops cause ovarian and testicular cancer; weird, but I never felt comfortable working on a laptop and as a designer, I spend a lot of time on the computer, so you'd think I'd have one by now. He spoke about studies from Russia and Sweden that showed the relation between cell phone use and brain tumors; those of you who know me, know that I refused to get a cell phone until about a year ago and hate to speak on it even now. You can learn more about it here: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/mobile-phones-more-dangerous-than-smoking,410111.shtml.
But I digress. Let's get back to nutrition. Brian also talked about distilled water, mentioning we get 2/3 of our oxygen intake from water and that it should be as pure as possible. He said the other alternative to distillation is molecular organization, which can be achieved with a living water system. He mentioned that many people have a vitamin D deficiency and shitake mushrooms dried in the sun are a good source of vitamin D. He is a big proponent of wheat grass and says optimally we should have 2 ounces in the AM and PM. He touched on the importance of hormones, oxygen and enzymes for optimal health. And he must know what he's talking about because his institute is famous for curing catastrophic illnesses such as cancer.
The other thing the institute's well known for is anti-aging; now, when I first got to the lecture, I checked Brian out to see if he looked extra healthy or "glowed" from eating raw foods. Unfair, I know, but we tend to do this when judging whether or not a person's lifestyle is truly worth emulating. I will admit he looked very healthy, but not in an unusual way. He looked good for a 40-year old, which is about what I assumed his age was. Then, later in the lecture, he mentioned something about going to college in the 60s. What?!? By my calculations, he would've been born in the 60s. He was a good 30 or so years older than I thought by his appearance! And I was not sitting very far away from him. Wow...
Dr. Clement also mentioned that agave syrup is really not much better than corn syrup in the way it affects the body—damn again! I had a feeling it might be too good to be true. I'll have to look into this one more, but he mentioned that the whole low-glycemic/high-glycemic thing is more marketing than anything else. He also mentioned fruit is so high in sugar and almost always picked unripened (and does not ripen once picked—bananas being the only exception), which when eaten, robs the body of nutrients. Another think I've instinctively felt. I eat very little fruit for being a vegan, which surprises people, but now I have a reason...
During the question/answer session, many individuals asked him about things that this scientist or that nutritionist had written about. Now, Brian approaches things from a very scientific and factual viewpoint (he works with many scientists for his studies and institute), but he was also able to disprove some things that scientists and doctors have stated. My friend Jessica once pointed out that if you add the phrase "God bless him/her" to a sentence, you can say almost anything negative about them and not come off as being critical. Well, Brian must know this trick, because he used it all the time when discounting other people's theories!
There are so many other things he spoke about, but I could go on forever. So I must stop here, but if you go to his website, you can sign up for a free quarterly magazine subscription, which I did after browsing through an issue I got at the lecture. Enjoy!
He spoke about so many things that I will just touch on a few that stood out to me the most. He mentioned the connection of eating animal products (yes, that means dairy and eggs too, not just meat) and greenhouse gas emissions. Now I already knew all about this, having done research for a school project on it, but in case you didn't already know, the UN put out a report a year or two ago showing that eating animal products is the biggest cause of global warming, and far more impactful than the kind of car you drive. But I will not go too far into that, since as Brian would say, I'd probably be preaching to the choir!
However, although he does live and teach about an all vegan lifestyle, he takes it a step further and insists upon all raw, living food. This is a step I have not taken, but am curious about. He mentioned that sprouts are the most nutritious food, veggie juices are great as long as you drink them fresh from the juicer, and blenders kill nutrients—yes, you heard that right! Something about the oxygenation that occurs when blending and spinning the food. Damn, it's so much harder to clean my juicer than my blender, but I suppose I shouldn't be lazy anymore...
He made a lot of strong statements (such as Ritalin is cocaine - I'll buy that) but backed them up by saying "check every word I say" and I did check a few, although most I believed by instinct anyway. One of which is his statement that laptops cause ovarian and testicular cancer; weird, but I never felt comfortable working on a laptop and as a designer, I spend a lot of time on the computer, so you'd think I'd have one by now. He spoke about studies from Russia and Sweden that showed the relation between cell phone use and brain tumors; those of you who know me, know that I refused to get a cell phone until about a year ago and hate to speak on it even now. You can learn more about it here: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/mobile-phones-more-dangerous-than-smoking,410111.shtml.
But I digress. Let's get back to nutrition. Brian also talked about distilled water, mentioning we get 2/3 of our oxygen intake from water and that it should be as pure as possible. He said the other alternative to distillation is molecular organization, which can be achieved with a living water system. He mentioned that many people have a vitamin D deficiency and shitake mushrooms dried in the sun are a good source of vitamin D. He is a big proponent of wheat grass and says optimally we should have 2 ounces in the AM and PM. He touched on the importance of hormones, oxygen and enzymes for optimal health. And he must know what he's talking about because his institute is famous for curing catastrophic illnesses such as cancer.
The other thing the institute's well known for is anti-aging; now, when I first got to the lecture, I checked Brian out to see if he looked extra healthy or "glowed" from eating raw foods. Unfair, I know, but we tend to do this when judging whether or not a person's lifestyle is truly worth emulating. I will admit he looked very healthy, but not in an unusual way. He looked good for a 40-year old, which is about what I assumed his age was. Then, later in the lecture, he mentioned something about going to college in the 60s. What?!? By my calculations, he would've been born in the 60s. He was a good 30 or so years older than I thought by his appearance! And I was not sitting very far away from him. Wow...
Dr. Clement also mentioned that agave syrup is really not much better than corn syrup in the way it affects the body—damn again! I had a feeling it might be too good to be true. I'll have to look into this one more, but he mentioned that the whole low-glycemic/high-glycemic thing is more marketing than anything else. He also mentioned fruit is so high in sugar and almost always picked unripened (and does not ripen once picked—bananas being the only exception), which when eaten, robs the body of nutrients. Another think I've instinctively felt. I eat very little fruit for being a vegan, which surprises people, but now I have a reason...
During the question/answer session, many individuals asked him about things that this scientist or that nutritionist had written about. Now, Brian approaches things from a very scientific and factual viewpoint (he works with many scientists for his studies and institute), but he was also able to disprove some things that scientists and doctors have stated. My friend Jessica once pointed out that if you add the phrase "God bless him/her" to a sentence, you can say almost anything negative about them and not come off as being critical. Well, Brian must know this trick, because he used it all the time when discounting other people's theories!
There are so many other things he spoke about, but I could go on forever. So I must stop here, but if you go to his website, you can sign up for a free quarterly magazine subscription, which I did after browsing through an issue I got at the lecture. Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Where has May gone?
Well, I'm not sure where May has gone, but I have gone to LA and NYC and entertained a couple house guests, one right after another, so the month has been fun but in a whirlwind kind of way! So hopefully that will serve as my excuse for not posting the last couple weeks as well; if not, what can I say? My apologies!
So I have come across a few items of interest this month while I was enjoying the beautiful spring weather in the company of friends and family. My fellow veg friend Rachel brought to my attention that Oprah is trying out vegan while on a 21-day detox! This is quite a coupe for us, as she is so well-known and respected that it seems like everything she touches turns to gold. Even if this doesn't get many other people trying vegan across the US (and I'd be surprised if it doesn't), at least maybe now I won't have to explain what vegan means to anyone now. I applaud Oprah on her valiant effort and for helping to raise the awareness of many others to the plight of animals who are born to die for meals. You can read about her experience on her blog here: http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml
I had a few good vegan meals in NYC, which is home to more veg and vegan restaurants than anywhere else I've been. I know I can always count on eating well when I go there! This past visit, I had delicious plantains fried with garlic and sprinkled with large sea salt crystals from Esperanza's (not a veg or vegan restaurant, mind you) in East Village at 9th and C. I also ate at one of my favorite standby's: Angelica Kitchen, an all vegan and organic restaurant on east 12th St. It easily met both my and my dinner date's requirements, as I of course insist on vegan and she wanted to eat somewhere that was byob. The service and food were delicious: I ate the special which incorporated beets, tempeh, asparagus, mushrooms and wild rice on a bed of arugula. It was filling but not heavy, and I certainly was hungry for it after walking around the city for hours earlier! It gave me enough energy to go out dancing into the late night.
The next day before my flight, I grabbed a bite at Jubb's Longevity, a small raw food deli, also in East Village on east 12th St. The staff were very friendly, but perhaps a little high from the pure raw food energy, as I had to place my order a couple times for it to register and even then, it took a while to get it, considering it didn't have to be cooked. However, it was quite yummy and worth the wait. We had the pesto pizza and open faced onion and cheese sandwich. A word to the wise though: when I went in, I asked about something in the case and was told "everything's vegan." However, when I asked what was in a desert I was given a taste of, I was told honey—oops! Additionally, this place is pretty pricey, even by organic raw food standards.
Anyway, hope you've had a good month and I'll write more in June!
So I have come across a few items of interest this month while I was enjoying the beautiful spring weather in the company of friends and family. My fellow veg friend Rachel brought to my attention that Oprah is trying out vegan while on a 21-day detox! This is quite a coupe for us, as she is so well-known and respected that it seems like everything she touches turns to gold. Even if this doesn't get many other people trying vegan across the US (and I'd be surprised if it doesn't), at least maybe now I won't have to explain what vegan means to anyone now. I applaud Oprah on her valiant effort and for helping to raise the awareness of many others to the plight of animals who are born to die for meals. You can read about her experience on her blog here: http://www2.oprah.com/foodhome/food/cleanse/blog/blog_1.jhtml
I had a few good vegan meals in NYC, which is home to more veg and vegan restaurants than anywhere else I've been. I know I can always count on eating well when I go there! This past visit, I had delicious plantains fried with garlic and sprinkled with large sea salt crystals from Esperanza's (not a veg or vegan restaurant, mind you) in East Village at 9th and C. I also ate at one of my favorite standby's: Angelica Kitchen, an all vegan and organic restaurant on east 12th St. It easily met both my and my dinner date's requirements, as I of course insist on vegan and she wanted to eat somewhere that was byob. The service and food were delicious: I ate the special which incorporated beets, tempeh, asparagus, mushrooms and wild rice on a bed of arugula. It was filling but not heavy, and I certainly was hungry for it after walking around the city for hours earlier! It gave me enough energy to go out dancing into the late night.
The next day before my flight, I grabbed a bite at Jubb's Longevity, a small raw food deli, also in East Village on east 12th St. The staff were very friendly, but perhaps a little high from the pure raw food energy, as I had to place my order a couple times for it to register and even then, it took a while to get it, considering it didn't have to be cooked. However, it was quite yummy and worth the wait. We had the pesto pizza and open faced onion and cheese sandwich. A word to the wise though: when I went in, I asked about something in the case and was told "everything's vegan." However, when I asked what was in a desert I was given a taste of, I was told honey—oops! Additionally, this place is pretty pricey, even by organic raw food standards.
Anyway, hope you've had a good month and I'll write more in June!
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Vegan Sushi
When I sat down to think about what to write this week, I decided to think over what I had eaten this week. Actually, it had been such a busy and productive week that I hadn't eaten much; I even fasted for almost two days. But on both Sunday and Friday, I had one of my favorite foods—sushi!
Sunday, we went to Sipz (see the archives for a full review). If you go for dinner, the sushi bar is open. There is a huge selection and I have certainly not tried them all, possibly in part because I am still in love with their Aloha rolls.
But last night, I went with a friend to Aubergine's in the Gaslamp. Many people are familiar with Aubergine's as a night club, but they are also known for having some of the best sushi in San Diego. They have a standard vegan roll called the "Marc roll" (that's right—named after our Marc!) that changes in its contents from time to time but is always tasty. The seaweed salad is very good, but be sure to let them know you're vegan and to do the dressing vegan for you (otherwise it has some egg in it). The agedashi tofu is also really good, but again, you must let them know you're vegan so they don't give it to you with fish sauce. If you ask, it should be no problem as they are very accommodating. The atmosphere is fun, and here's the best part: on Friday's they have a sushi happy hour with rolls for $2! These are full size orders of freshly prepared rolls; there is no catch here. My friend and I had a great time and were treated fantastically as always by the staff there. Be sure to make reservations, as they get booked in advance most of the time.
Alright, that's it for this week—enjoy!
Sunday, we went to Sipz (see the archives for a full review). If you go for dinner, the sushi bar is open. There is a huge selection and I have certainly not tried them all, possibly in part because I am still in love with their Aloha rolls.
But last night, I went with a friend to Aubergine's in the Gaslamp. Many people are familiar with Aubergine's as a night club, but they are also known for having some of the best sushi in San Diego. They have a standard vegan roll called the "Marc roll" (that's right—named after our Marc!) that changes in its contents from time to time but is always tasty. The seaweed salad is very good, but be sure to let them know you're vegan and to do the dressing vegan for you (otherwise it has some egg in it). The agedashi tofu is also really good, but again, you must let them know you're vegan so they don't give it to you with fish sauce. If you ask, it should be no problem as they are very accommodating. The atmosphere is fun, and here's the best part: on Friday's they have a sushi happy hour with rolls for $2! These are full size orders of freshly prepared rolls; there is no catch here. My friend and I had a great time and were treated fantastically as always by the staff there. Be sure to make reservations, as they get booked in advance most of the time.
Alright, that's it for this week—enjoy!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
A vegan Nutella substitute?
Well, last week I posted early in anticipation of my weekend away, and this week I'm posting late, with no better excuse than the fact that I spent much of my weekend hanging out with friends and my nuclear family (Marc and Juno, our great dane, and Moony, the cat—can a cat really ever be owned? I don't think so).
As I am drowning in work to do for my thesis (don't even ask), this will be a short post. Years ago, while traveling in the middle east, Marc and I discovered Nutella, a delicious spread with a chocolate and hazelnut flavor. Much to our dismay, we had to abandon it when we became vegans due to what appears to be a very small amount of milk in the ingredients list (makers of Nutella, if you're reading this, please revise the recipe so we can enjoy it again!). However, Marc came home from the grocery store the other night with an adorable container of a product called "Simple Soynut Butter." The charming illustration on the label is created by Nina Frenkel, and the food company that makes the spread is called Simple Food.
We could barely wait until after dinner to try it. Marc lightly toasted a slice of bread and slathered the chocolate spread on top (it also comes in different flavors, including Cinnamon Sugar). Now, it's no Nutella, but it is quite yummy. It's a little bit drier than Nutella, and unfortunately doesn't have that distinct hazelnut flavoring, but we intend to try doctoring it up a bit with some hazelnut liqueur to see if that won't address both (minor) issues. Definitely it's good qualities outweigh the bad; as well as being vegan, it's also certified organic and gluten free, and it's even peanut and tree nut free for those of you with allergies. All in all, I'd give it four stars. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Custom Vegan Belts
So, I'm writing early this week as I'm off to Santa Cruz this weekend to visit a dear friend of mine. Earlier this week, while shopping with a friend, we discovered this great shop in Normal Heights called Eco-Boutique. Now, I have been looking for a good cruelty-free belt for a while, and the great thing about this place is that they have leather-free straps of all different colors and a huge selection of beautiful buckles, many of which are antiques. You can pick the strap you like and the buckle you like and they measure your waist and custom make it for you while you wait. I chose a turquoise micro-fiber belt, which at first I was reluctant to settle on because turquoise does not necessarily go with everything. However, here's the best part: each strap is reversible! So on the other side of my turquoise belt is a light beige color that will go with just about anything. It's like getting two belts for the price of one. There's a brown/black strap that would be perfect for most people (I somehow do not own any brown shows; probably because I don't do real leather, but I know there are fake leather brown shoes out there...).
We chatted with the proprietor, Richard Fredrick, who in addition to being really nice and sweet is also a vegetarian of many years. The boutique also carries a large and very reasonably priced collection of Mat & Nat bags, but don't wait to snatch them up—they will go quickly at those prices. In addition, there are many organic cotton tees, jeans, and tops. Also, they're having an art show featuring the work of Jear Dean and celebrating the grand opening of their new organic tea patio and garden on Saturday, April 19th at 5p. Check them out for yourself at 3316 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116 for some guilt-free shopping!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
So, lately Marc has been bugging me to make his favorite kind of cookies: oatmeal raisin. I'm kind of a chocolate chip girl myself, but sometimes you just have to accommodate your love. This weekend seemed like a good time to try; I had planned on going to a veg picnic on Sunday, but due to a combination of cloudy, chilly weather and a thesis presentation that needed to be put together, I didn't go. However, I had already gotten raisins and oats at the store, so later in the day after I had finished my presentation, I searched online for some recipes. I chose one that used only ingredients I already had around the house, and went to work!
These are a quick and easy to make treat. The whole deal should take only about 1/2 an hour and all the mixing can be (and should be) done by hand. I made a couple alterations to the ingredients, and, after making the first batch, a few changes to the amounts, but this recipe is loosely based on one posted here: http://www.essortment.com/all/veganchocolate_opx.htm. No author's name appears, but thanks to whoever developed this recipe! Here's my version:
1 and 1/4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Coconut Oil (lightly warmed until it's liquid)
2 tablespoons Soy Creamer (I like Silk, great for coffee or tea too)
1 and 1/3 cups organic Confectioner's Sugar (This is just what I had around the house; I'm sure any sugar would work fine, but be careful. Some refined sugars, such as C&H, are not vegan.)
1/4 cup Agave (You can probably increase this amount and skip the sugar altogether.)
2 egg substitutes (I use Ener-G egg replacer.)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Oatmeal
3 handfuls (I have large hands!) Raisins (I also did a batch with pecans for those who don't like raisins. Lucky thing I did, as one of our guests last night hates them!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and put aside. In a large bowl, mix the coconut oil and sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix up your egg replacer until it's light and fluffy, and slowly work into the oil and sugar mix. Then add the soy creamer and vanilla extract and stir. Mix in the agave syrup and then the oats. Add the raisins last and stir once more. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased cookie pan (you can use the coconut oil to grease it), and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes and keep checking until they have spread out a little and are still soft but not gooey to the touch). Enjoy!
These are a quick and easy to make treat. The whole deal should take only about 1/2 an hour and all the mixing can be (and should be) done by hand. I made a couple alterations to the ingredients, and, after making the first batch, a few changes to the amounts, but this recipe is loosely based on one posted here: http://www.essortment.com/all/veganchocolate_opx.htm. No author's name appears, but thanks to whoever developed this recipe! Here's my version:
1 and 1/4 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Coconut Oil (lightly warmed until it's liquid)
2 tablespoons Soy Creamer (I like Silk, great for coffee or tea too)
1 and 1/3 cups organic Confectioner's Sugar (This is just what I had around the house; I'm sure any sugar would work fine, but be careful. Some refined sugars, such as C&H, are not vegan.)
1/4 cup Agave (You can probably increase this amount and skip the sugar altogether.)
2 egg substitutes (I use Ener-G egg replacer.)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Oatmeal
3 handfuls (I have large hands!) Raisins (I also did a batch with pecans for those who don't like raisins. Lucky thing I did, as one of our guests last night hates them!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and put aside. In a large bowl, mix the coconut oil and sugar together. In a separate bowl, mix up your egg replacer until it's light and fluffy, and slowly work into the oil and sugar mix. Then add the soy creamer and vanilla extract and stir. Mix in the agave syrup and then the oats. Add the raisins last and stir once more. Drop spoonfuls onto a greased cookie pan (you can use the coconut oil to grease it), and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes and keep checking until they have spread out a little and are still soft but not gooey to the touch). Enjoy!
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